African financial institutions need to focus on assisting African countries

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Recently, the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki urged African financial institutions to focus on assisting African countries to address the disadvantages arising from the underdevelopment of the continent’s economy.
 The president made this known in Asmara when he received a delegation of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) led by Dr Benedict Oramah.
President Afwerki said that despite the fact that Africa is endowed with 60 percent of the world’s resources, the continent continues to be disadvantaged because of the underdeveloped economy, which saw it exporting mainly raw materials and primary products.
“Eritrea believes in working with financial institutions that can help in transforming the African economy,” said Afwerki.
President Afwerki expressed Eritrea’s willingness to join Afreximbank as a Member State. He said that Eritrea would aim to be an effective contributor to encourage and ensure the creation of the environment for the delivery of the services for which the bank was created. 
He further pledged that Eritrea would implement the required procedures to become an active member of the Bank.
However, this comes after Dr Benedict Oramah commended Eritrea for the many changes it is implementing to transform the economy, which includes the areas of transport, water and agriculture. 
He said that as an African bank that puts Africa first, Afreximbank was committed to working with African countries to address their trade development needs, explaining that the bank was set up to promote and finance intra-and extra-African trade.
Dr Oramah outlined the bank’s current strategy, which focused on intra-African trade; industrialization and export development; and trade finance leadership, adding that Eritrea could benefit from its implementation when it became a member of the bank.
What you didn’t know about Afrexim Bank
  • Afrexim Bank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting African trade.
  • It was established under two basic constitutive instruments which are the agreement signed by Member States and multilateral organizations, which gives the bank the status of an international multilateral organization and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.
  • The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.
  • Afrexim Bank commenced operations on 30 September 1994, following the signature of a Headquarters Agreement with the host Government in August 1994.
  • Since 1994, it has approved more than 51 billion dollars in credit facilities for African businesses, including about 10.3 billion dollars in 2016.
  • Afreximbank has total assets of 9.4 billion dollars as at April 30, 2016.
  • The Bank is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch).
  • The bank is based in Cairo, Egypt.

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